In the last week the director of the CDC announced their pending resignation, and the World Health Organization formally ended the COVID-19 emergency.
For doctors on the ground in South Dakota, any one of these changes can have a ripple effect on their jobs.
With the formal end of the COVID emergency comes a symbolic end to the pandemic that uprooted lives across the world.
Dr. Chad Thury is a physician and regional director of clinical quality for Avera. He said this is an adjustment period.
“It’s significant change in how we’re thinking of COVID," Thury said. "There’s this transition from the worldwide pandemic to more of the endemic situation. It’s here to stay, it’s not going away, but it’s certainly different than where we were.”
While the WHO and CDC are massive entities, Thury said they played an important role in distributing new information.
“What the CDC provided as far as recommendations we followed that I would say to a T," Thury said. "During the pandemic, in the heat of it, the CDC was our 'source of truth' when it came to things we did in regards to COVID.”
Thury reflected on how much has changed for patients and providers in just three years.
“I think you’re going to see a growth of remote patient monitoring, I think you’re going to see a growth of hospital-at-home and moving patients from the in-patient setting in brick and mortar hospitals to more care at home," Thury said. "You’re going to see that at within skilled nursing facilities as well. Some of the leniencies as far as how to prescribe medications are going to continue to stay as well.”
Thury encouraged people to continue seeking out COVID vaccinations and boosters.